CrossFit Midtown is very excited to announce our March Member of the Month, Amy Nathanson! Amy has been a member for almost a year, has made some major gains, made some awesome friends, and has been an active person in the CFM community! Read on to learn more about Amy and her CrossFit journey. Thank you for being such an outstanding member of the CFM community!
Name: Amy Nathanson
Nickname: N/A
Age: 43
Hometown: Rockville, MD
How did you get exposed to CrossFit?
I was visiting a friend and he said, “Oh, we started doing this thing called CrossFit. Would you like to try it?” Earlier that year I had done some sprint triathlons, so I thought I was in pretty decent shape. We did a circuit that involved box jumps, pushups, and some other stuff. It was pretty brutal. The next day I was incredibly sore, and was munching Advil like it was M&Ms. I wondered if that was how it felt to be 93 years old. I decided I DEFINITELY needed to find a CrossFit near where I lived when I got home. 😉
What brought you to CrossFit Midtown:
I moved here from Oregon for my job. I was on my house-hunting trip. My first priority was to find a place to live, and the second was to find a good crossfit. I was lucky enough to accomplish both during that trip.
What was your very first day at CrossFit Midtown like?
I was asked, “How long have you been at CrossFit Midtown?” and I looked at the clock and said, “About three minutes.”
I thought it was really nice and welcoming to start the class with introductions and a brief icebreaker. I was really impressed with how open and friendly everyone was.
What kind of changes have you you experienced since starting CrossFit that were completely unexpected?
When I started crossfit I couldn’t clean a 45# barbell. Last week I did a 125# clean and jerk off a set of blocks. I can deadlift over 200#. I did the very first pull-up of my life when I was 36 years old. I never thought I could do any of those things. It’s really exciting to not know what my limitations are, and to get to continually push myself to new heights.
Also my arms and shoulders look smokin’ hot.
Tell us some of your recent accomplishments. What goals do you have for 2019!?
I hit 105# on my snatch last year, which was pretty amazing to me. My back squat and deadlift aren’t quite up to my lifetime maxes but they’re close (within 5-10 pounds.) With moving and travel the fact that they’re as close as they are is pretty awesome.
I’d like to break 200# on my back squat and 300# on my deadlift. I think I’m much closer to the former than the latter. I’d also like to PR my olympic lifts, but they’re very technique-driven, and I’m not sure I’ve got that quite down in my head yet.
I have a lot of travel coming up this year, so I don’t know if those things will happen, but that’s okay. I am going to try to be as consistent as I can with working out, and try to fit in workouts when I travel. Trying to be good with nutrition when I travel is also a goal.
What does your frequently used emoji tab look like?
Are you checking for eggplants or something?
What is your favorite workout and if you could make up your own workout what would it be?
I’m not sure what my favorite is. I really liked 16.5: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 Thrusters/Burpees. I’m nuts, I know. I also like Murph because it’s such a mental game.
My ideal workout would have no wallballs.
I really enjoy having lifts in the workout, so maybe a triplet of front squat/pull-up/run (10/10/400) or front squat/sit-up/run (10/20/400).
What is your favorite cheat food/meal?
Wine.
Favorite CrossFit Midtown moment
I went on vacation for a bit and when I came back lots of people were like, “Where have you been, Amy?” It’s so wonderful to be welcomed into this group and have people notice when I’m gone, even though I’m fairly new here.
Hobbies, Talents and or Interests Outside of CrossFit:
I downhill ski and occasionally knit.
Advice for new CrossFitters
Don’t feel like you’re not fit enough to do CrossFit. It is infinitely scaleable to whatever level you’re at. And don’t feel bad just because you can’t run as fast or lift as much weight as someone else. No one judges you for that. If you’re here, and you work out with us, you’re one of us. We will congratulate you when you finish the workout whether it’s first, last, or in the middle, and we will celebrate with you at each new achievement you make.
